Tag Archives: coal mine

NewsHound

Tim Farron on decarbonising steel production and that coal mine

By NewsHound | Thu 26th January 2023 - 4:53 pm

Tim Farron spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on steel production yesterday:

Steel is vital to our green economy. As Britain decarbonises with new infrastructure based on steel, let us make sure that we also decarbonise the processes we use to make that steel.

His comments come in the shadow of the government approving the controversial Woodhouse coal mine in Whitehaven, the first deep coal mine in England since 1986.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment

Old King Coal is back in Cumbria as the wind blows in favour of turbines

By Andy Boddington | Thu 8th December 2022 - 10:22 am

Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
And merry for coal was he,
He called for his mine, and he sold his soul,
Saying climate change is not for me!

(Misremembered nursery rhyme.)

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 12 Comments
NewsHound

Dodds: Aberpergwm Coal Mine Expansion Must be Stopped

By NewsHound | Thu 17th March 2022 - 9:27 am

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their opposition to the expansion of Aberpergwm Coal Mine in Neath Port Talbot Council. Addressing a protest in front of the Senedd Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds stated that if we are to stand any hope of tackling climate change before it’s too late, the coal must be left in the ground.

A protest yesterday in front of the Senedd in Cardiff saw multiple Welsh climate groups attend.

The expansion of Aberpergwm Coal Mine has been at the centre of a row between the UK and Welsh Governments, with the Welsh Government claiming it does not have the legal authority to block the mine’s expansion, while the UK Coal Authority has insisted that the Welsh Government could in fact stop the development.

The new license, which was approved by the Coal Authority in January will allow Aberpergwm Mine to extract another forty million tonnes of coal. The development could release up to 1.17 million tonnes of very strong greenhouse gases, including methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 15 Comments
Mark Valladares

16 March 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 16th March 2022 - 10:50 pm
  • Zaghari-Ratcliffe released from Iran: At a dark time, this is joyful news
  • Jane Dodds: Aberpergwm Coal Mine Expansion Must be Stopped

Zaghari-Ratcliffe released from Iran: At a dark time, this is joyful news

Responding to the news that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman detained in Iran has now been released and is on her way back to the UK, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran MP said:

At a dark time, this is joyful news for us all to celebrate. Members of the public, NGOs, Parliamentarians and, of course, Nazanin and Anoosheh’s families have campaigned tirelessly for their release – it now looks like they are finally coming home.

But it should not have taken years to reach this day – nearly six years in the case of Nazanin. We should never have been in the situation where UK nationals are being used as political bargaining chips. The UK Government has questions to answer for whether their actions, including those of the current Prime Minister, have prolonged this ordeal. I hope the Foreign Secretary will commit to an independent inquiry.

I’m sure many tears are set to be cried in the next twenty-four hours. But for once I hope they are tears of joy.

Jane Dodds: Aberpergwm Coal Mine Expansion Must be Stopped

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their opposition to the expansion of Aberpergwm Coal Mine in Neath Port Talbot Council. Addressing a protest in front of the Senedd Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds stated that if we are to stand any hope of tackling climate change before it’s too late, the coal must be left in the ground.

The protest in front of the Senedd in Cardiff saw multiple Welsh climate groups attend.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

Ed Davey: Scrap the new Cumbrian coal mine

By The Voice | Tue 16th February 2021 - 12:45 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Ed Davey has welcomed the decision to review the planning permission of a new coal mine in Cumbria:

The Liberal Democrats have long called for a rethink on plans on for a new coal mine in Cumbria and I am delighted that’s exactly what has happened.

If Boris Johnson is serious about climate action he will call on Cumbria county council to scrap the mine

Cumbria County Council now need to do the right thing and throw these plans out, or the Prime Minister must

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 40 Comments
John Studholme

Woodhouse Mine, Whitehaven, West Cumbria

By John Studholme | Fri 12th February 2021 - 12:36 pm


The Woodhouse issue should be treated on the facts. There is an AECOM report commissioned by West Cumbrian Mining which I am using for some facts below and facts I have googled from sound sources. viz. International Energy Agency.

In this document GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) cover all the carbon gases to be found in the mine. In calculating quantities these gases are quantified using their CO2 equivalents.

Facts

1. The world produced 18699.9m tonne of steel in 2019. A 3.4 % increase over 2018. World steel production increases every year unless there is a depression.

2. Every tonne of steel produced causes 1.85 tonne of CO2 to be released.

3. In 1875 the UK produced 47% of the world’s pig iron and 40% of our output went to the USA. In 1950 we produced 150m tonne of steel per annum. Today we produce 61.5m tonne or 0.033 % of the world total.  There is an enormous variation in the price of steel at present   Coking coal ranges in price between $195 and $218 per tonne depending on world conditions not where it comes from.

4. Woodhouse will be producing 3.1m tonne of coal which is .053% of the world’s total. This is a negligible amount and Woodhouse will have no effect whatsoever on the worldwide price of coking coal and subsequently the price of steel and global warming. The coking coal and steel we produce is less than 0.05% of the world market and will be substituted for it elsewhere in the world in any case.

5. The AECOM report points out in para 4.5 that:

“ Any CHG gas emissions at the steel works from the production of coal mined from the Proposed Development would not therefore be additional (to the world’s gas emissions) as these will occur whether or not the Proposed (Woodhouse) is permitted to operate.”

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 39 Comments
Advert



Recent Comments

  • Suzanne Fletcher
    probably too late for this to be seen - but good speech!...
  • Mary Fulton
    I wish you every success with the concert. It is a tragedy that around 8 million Ukrainians have left their country due to the war and these people need support...
  • Mick Taylor
    @Martin. You don’t beat extremists by pandering to them but by challenging their arguments and putting forward our alternative. Your approach gives them crede...
  • Simon R
    There are certainly some issues with HS2 connectivity, but I don't think it's fair to describe Birmingham Curzon Street as unconnected: It's literally right nex...
  • Steve Trêvethan
    In. basic socio-economic terms, there are but two groups of people in our society. One is the borrowers and the other the lenders. Neoliberalism/Austerity pres...